very soon. >> i'm not working at cnn anymore. cnn eliminated its entire investigative unit >> reporter: what? they've eliminated the department that i was working for where i was doing those international investigative reports >> reporter: cnn, the worldwide leader in news, has eliminated its investigative news department? >> yes. reporter: i'm just letting that sink in a second. it's taking a while. it's just going in. holy [bleep]. yet last spring cnn dismissed almost their entire special investigative documentary documentary unit. i spoke to professional media analyst brad atgate who offers in favor of talking heads over boots on the ground reporting cnn is finally raising itself up to meet the low standards of its competitors >> sad to say investigative journalism is on the way out. it's usually the first one to go because it's not a profit center >> reporter: let's say i knew an investigative journalist doing an investigation on a haven for drug smuggling. does that sound interesting? >> no. reporter: that doesn't sound like